Cradle for fiber supporting aprons



March 26, 1968 R. K. WHITEHEAD, SR., ETAL 3,374,507

CRADLE FOR FIBER SUPPORTING APRONS Filed May 27, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ric/2 ara ff. WftfleQdSf Richard K. Wfiz'fefieadlt Harry C W/uie/zeaa BY I ATTOPNE Y5 March 26, 1968 R. K. WHITEHEAD, SR. ETAL 3,374,507

CRADLE FOR FIBER SUPPORTING APRONS Filed May 27, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTOR/VE Y5 United States Patent f 3,374,507 CRADLE FOR FIBER SUPPORTING APRONS Richard K. Whitehead, Sr., Richard K. Whitehead, Jr., and Harry C. Whitehead, all of 1202 Zonolite Road, Atlanta, Ga. 30306 Fiied May 27, 1966, Ser. No. 553,507 Claims. ('Cl. 19-245) This invention relates to textile fiber handling apparatus and more particularly to a cradle for fiber supporting aprons used to support and guide textile fibers during drafting.

In spinning frames and other textile apparatus in which the drafting of textile fibers occurs, it is customary for the various drafting systems used to support and guide textile fibers between drafting rolls with one or more aprons. Casablancas, Roth, and Duo Roth are examples of such drafting systems.

Where a plurality of aprons are used in a drafting system, each apron generally has a drafting roll positioned within it and is mounted with the drafting roll in a cradle which supports the apron relative to another apron so that the aprons define a fiber handling zone between them. The support and guidance which the aprons provide textile fibers in this fiber handling Zone largely determines the efficiency of a drafting system.

A dilficulty with prior art cradles is that they have not supported the aprons in a manner which results in the aprons providing the proper support and guidance to textile fibers in the fiber handling zone between the aprons. This is because prior art cradles have tended to accumulate lint and other material from the environment so as to distort the shape of the aprons and of the fiber handling zone or cause mis-alignment of the aprons in the fiber handling zones. Moreover, they have all supported the aprons so that changes in the length of an apron because of use or age result in distortion of the fiber handling zone.

The invention disclosed herein eliminates these did]- culties with prior art cradles for supporting one or more aprons by providing a cradle from which accumulating lint and other material is continuously discharged and which maintains the position of the apron in the fiber handling zone regardless of changes in the length of the apron resulting from use or age. Thus, the invention supports an apron or a plurality of aprons in a manner which insures that an uniform fiber handling zone is continuously provided. It is because of this that the invention is ideally suited to drafting systems providing high drafts such as those used in modern spinning frames.

These improvements in a cradle for supporting an apron are provided by a cradle having an apron support which is positioned within the apron with a drafting roll and which comprises an apron positioning means for positioning the apron in a predetermined path, a roll cleaning means for scraping lint and other material from the peripheral surface of the roll onto the inner surface of the apron, an apron cleaning means for scraping lint and other material from the inner surface of the apron and discharging it outwardly of the cradle, and an apron tensioning means for resiliently urging the apron outwardly. The roll cleaning means, the apron cleaning means, and the apron tensioning means cooperate to provide a cradle for supporting an apron which substantially eliminates the distortion of a fiber handling zone by the accumulation of lint or by changes in the length of the apron.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a draft- 3,3 74,507 Patented Mar. 26, 1968 ing system incorporating an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of that embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 taken in a plane perpendicular to the aprons.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper section of that embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2 taken in a plane through the fiber handling zone and with the apron removed.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention taken in a plane perpendicular to the aprons.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the upper section of that embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4 taken in a plane through the fiber handling zone and with the apron and roll removed.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the invention taken in a plane perpendicular to the aprons.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the invention taken in a plane perpendicular to the aprons.

These figures and the following detailed description disclose a plurality of specific embodiments of the invention. However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments or to the details disclosed since it may be embodied in other equivalent forms.

The invention disclosed herein is a cradle C for supporting an apron 10 or a plurality of aprons 10 and 11 to provide a fiber handling zone Z such as that required by a Casablancas drafting system as generally shown in FIG. 1. In such a drafting system, fibers 12 in a form such as a roving or sliver are passed through a suitable guide such as a trumpet 13 to a first pair of drafting rolls 14. The fibers 12 are subsequently passed to a second pair of drafting rolls 15 and then to a third pair of drafting rolls 16. From the third pair of drafting rolls 16, the fibers 12 pass to a suitable twisting and take-up arrangement (not shown).

In such a drafting system, the fiber handling zone Z provided by the aprons 10 and 11 extends from the second pair of drafting rolls 15 toward the third pair of drafting rolls 16 so as to support and guide the fibers 12 as they pass between the second pair of drafting rolls 15 and the third pair of drafting rolls 16. It is conventional in such a drafting system to enclose the second pair of drafting rolls 15 within the aprons -10 and 11 and to provide a cradle C for supporting both the drafting rolls 15 and the aprons 10 and 11 as shown in FIG. 1.

The invention disclosed herein provides a cradle C for supporting the drafting rolls 15 and the aprons 10 and 11 in a manner which provides an undistorted fiber handling zone Z. In all four embodiments of the invention, the

- cradle C is comprised of a lower section 18 and an upper section 19 which is easily separable from the lower section -18 to facilitate cleaning the cradle C. This arrangement of a lower section 18 and an upper section 19 is conventional.

It is also conventional for the lower section 18 to provide two cradle walls 20 and 21 between which the drafting rolls 15 are positioned to be driven by a suitable driving arrangement (not shown). Similarly, it is conventional to provide a shelf 22 between the cradle Walls 20 and 21 for maintaining the cradle walls 20 and 21 in spaced relationship with each other.

Moreover, it is in the apron supports S positioned between the cradle walls 20 and 21 in both the lower section 18 and the upper section 19 of the cradle C that the invention disclosed herein is embodied. It is for this reason that only the apron support S is described in detail below.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the apron support S in the lower section 18 of the cradle C includes a roll scraper member 22:: positioned between the cradle walls 20 and 21 by extending a tab 23 at each end through the cradle walls 24) and 21.

4 and 5, the apron positioning means is provided by a The roll scraper member 22a isformedand positioned etween the cradle walls and 21 to provide an arcuate surface 24 engaging the peripheral surface 25 of the roll 15 and defining a scraper edge 26 extending across the width of the roll 15 adjacent the line of tangency of the. apron 10 with the roll 15. The roll scraper member 22a also provides a roll engaging surface 27 disposed on the opposite side of the tabs 23 from the arcuate surface 24 so as to resist pivotal motion of the roll scraper member 22a about the tabs 23.

In the upper section 19 of the cradle C, the apron support S includes a similar roll scraper member 29 mounted between the cradle walls 20 and 21 by a pin 30 extending from each end of the roll scraper member 29. As with the roll scraper member 22a, the roll scraper member 29 provides an arcuate surface 31 and a scraper edge 32 extending across the width of the roll 15' adjacent the line of tangency of the apron 11 with the roll 15'.

In both the lower section 18 and the upper section 19 of that embodiment of the cradle C shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the apron support S includes a wedge-shaped member 33 or '34 formed of resilient material such as a resilient plastic and having sufficient length to engage the front edges of the cradle walls 20 and 21 when it is inserted within an apron 10 or 11 and positioned across the front edges 35 of the cradle walls 20 and 21. Each wedge-shaped member 33 or 34 is shaped so that its sides 36 and 27 are resiliently forced apart when the wedge shaped members 33 and 34 are inserted into position within an apron 10 or 11 as shown most clearly in FIG. 2. Moreover, the side 36 of each wedge-shaped member 33 or 34 is positioned within a notch in each of the cradle walls 20 and 21 and the side 37 of each wedgeshaped member 33 or 34 is slidably movable on the front edges 35 of the cradle walls 20 and 21, Thus, it will be understood that the tendency of the sides 36 and 37 of a wedge shaped member 33 or 34 to move toward each other serves to maintain each apron 10 or 11 in tension regardless of changes in length of the apron 10 orll as a result of use or age and that the positioning of a side 36 by the notches 40 serves to position an apron 10 or 11 in a predetermined path between a roller 15 or 15' and the edge 42 of a Wedge-shaped member 33 or 34.

The inner edge of the side 36 of each wedge-shaped member 33 or 34 is shaped to define a laterally-sweeping surface 44. It will be understood from FIG. 3 that with motion of an apron 10 or 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow 45 in FIG. 2, the sweeping surface 44 will scrape lint and other material from the inner surface 46 of the apron 10 or 11 and move the lint or other material outwardly over the lateral edges of the apron 10 and 11 so as to discharge it from the cradle C.

Moreover, it will now be understood that each apron support S comprises a roll scraper member 22a or 29 which serves as a roll cleaning means for scraping lint and other material from the peripheral surface 25 of a roll 15 or 15' onto the inner surface 46 of an apron 10 or 11 and a sweeping surface 44 which serves as an apron cleaning means for scraping lint and other material from the inner surface 46 of an apron 10 or 11 and moving the lint and other material laterally across the apron 10 or 11 to be discharged from the cradle C. In addition, each apron support C comprises a resilient wedge shaped member 33 or 34 which serves as an apron tensioning means for resiliently urging an apron 10 or 11 outwardly in a manner which does not distort the path of the apron 10 or 11 between its line of tangency with a roll 15 or 15 and a parallel line provided by the edge 42 of the wedge member 33 or 34 and which with the notches 40 in the cradle walls 20 and 21 serves to provide an apron positioning means for positioning an apron 10 or 11 in this predetermined path. These same functions are provided by each embodiment of the invention described herein.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS.

' solid wedge shapedmember Sit-or 51 positioned between the cradle walls 20 and 21 in both the lower section 18 and the upper section 19 of the cradle C. Each solid wedge shaped member 50 or 51 is positioned between the cradle walls 20 and 21 by apeg 52 extending from each end and slidably movable within a slot 53 in the cradle wall 20 and a corresponding slot 54 in the cradle wall 21. As in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the roll cleaning means in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and5 is a roll scraper member 55 or 56 positioned to en age with its scraping edge 57 a roll 15 or a roll 15.

However, unlike that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, in that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the apron teusioning means is a spring member 58 positioned between a solid wedge shaped member '50 or 51 and a roll scraper member 55 or 56 so as to urge them apart as is best shown in FIG. 4. Thus, in that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 it is the resiliency of the spring members 58 which serves to maintain tension within each apron 1G or 11 regardless of use or age. The orientation of the slots 53 and 54 in the cradle walls 20 and 21 serves to insure that motion of the solid wedge-shaped members 50 and 51 in response to the spring members 58 is parallel to the path of an apron 10 or 11 from a roll 15 or 15' to the edge 60 of a solid wedge-shaped member 50 or 51. In that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the apron cleaning means is provided simply by forming a sweeping surface 61 in the solid wedge-shaped members 50 and 51 as shown in FIG. 5 and by providing apertures 62 in the cradle walls 20 and 21 for the discharge of lint and other material.

In those embodiments of the invention shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the apron positioning means, the roll cleaning means, the apron cleaning means, and the apron tensioning means are provided in both the lower section 18 and the upper section 19 of the cradle C by a single integral structure of resilient material. In that embodiment of FIG. ,6, the single integral structure is a ribbon of resilient material formed to provide a roll scraper member 71 or 72 and a wedging member 73 or 74 having pegs 75 slidably movable in the slots 53 and 54. It will be understood that a roll scraper member 71 or 72 and a wedging member 73 or 74 or urged apart by the resiliency of a ribbon 70.- Between each roll scraper member 71 or 72 and a wedging member 73 or 74 is a sweeping surface 78 formed on each ribbon 70 for scraping lint and other material from the inner surface 46 of an apron :10 or 11 and discharging it outwardly of the cradle C through apertures 80 and 81 in the cradle walls 20 and 21.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 7 the single integral structure is a wedge-shaped member 87 or 88 having one side 79 which provides a roll scraper member 82 or 82 and a sweeping surface 83 or 84. Pegs 75' in the slots 53 and 54 maintain the position of each side 79 and the second side 86 of each wedge shaped member 87 or 88 resiliently urges an apron 10 or 11 outwardly so as to maintain apron tension andthe predetermined path of the apron 10 or 11 regardless of apron use and age.

In those embodiments of the invention shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7, the separation of the upper section 19 of the cradle from the lower section 18 of the cradle C is facilitated by providing a slot extension 90 continuous with the slots 53 and 54 in the cradle walls'20 and 21 to permit the removal of the upper section '19'of the cradle C simply by raising the shaft 91 of the upper roll 15 upwardly and by removing a peg 52 or 75 from the cradle walls 20 and 21 through a slot extension 90. In that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the upper section 19 of the cradle is separated from the lower section 18 of the cradle C by initially removing a wedge-shaped member 33 or 34 and by subsequently moving the shaft 91 of the upper roll 15' upwardly. It will be understood that the upper section 19 of a cradle C may be positioned with respect to the lower section 18 of a cradle C in similar fashion.

Thus, regardless of the embodiment of the invention, the invention provides a cradle C which is easily assembled and disassembled but which requires a minimum of time for assembly and disassembly. Moreover, the cradle requires a minimum of maintenance because of the continuous removal of lint and material from each roll 15 or 15 by the roll cleaning means, because of the continuous removal and lateral discharge of lint and material from each apron 10 or 11 by the apron cleaning means, and because of the constant apron tension maintained by the apron tensioning means. It is because of this that the invention provides a cradle which is ideally suited to use in drafting systems which require the fiber handling zone Z to be carefully maintained.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating the present invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed as our invention is:

1. In a cradle for a fiber drafting system; a pair of side walls, a first drafting roll and a second drafting roll rotatably positioned between said side walls with their axes of rotation substantially parallel, a continuous first apron enclosing said first drafting roll and a continuous second apron enclosing said second drafting roll, and a first apron support positioned within said first apron with said first drafting roll and a second apron support positioned Within said second apron with said second drafting roll; said first apron support and said second apron support each comprising: (a) an apron positioning means for fixedly positioning an apron in a predetermined path between a line of tangency with a drafting roll and a second line parallel to and remote from said line of tangency, (b) an apron tensioning means for maintaining substantially constant tension in an apron by motion of the apron in other than said predetermined path, a first cleaning means for scraping debris from a drafting roll for passage of said debris with an apron along said predetermined path, and (d) a second cleaning means for scraping debris from an apron laterally outward toward said side walls as the apron passes along said predetermined path; said side walls being open adjacent said second cleaning means of said first apron support and adjacent said second cleaning means of said second apron support to provide for discharge of debris from between said side walls, and the predetermined path provided by the apron positioning means of said first apron support and the predetermined path provided by the apron positioning means of said second apron support being positioned relative to each other to define a fiber handling zone.

2. The cradle of claim 1 in which the first cleaning means of each said apron support is a scraper member having an arcuaie surface engaging the periphery of a drafting roll.

3. The cradle of claim 2 in which the apron positioning means of each said apron support is a substantially wedge-shaped member having an edge positioned adjacent said second line.

4. The cradle of claim 3 in which the apron tensioning means of each said apron support is a resilient member positioned between said scraper member and said Wedge-shaped member.

5. The cradle of claim 4 in which the wedge-shaped member of each said apron support is slidably movable in line of motion substantially parallel to said predetermined path.

6. The cradle of claim 5 in which said scraper member, said wedge-shaped member, and said resilient member are a single integral structure.

7. The cradle of claim 6 in which said resilient member is a compressed resilient ribbon.

8. The cradle of claim 4 in which said resilient member is a spring.

9. The cradle of claim 1 in which the apron positioning means and the apron tensioning means of each said apron support are the adjacent sides of a wedge-shaped member having that edge formed by said sides at said second line.

10. The cradle of claim 1 in which the apron tensioning means of each said apron support urges said apron outwardly when said apron is in a second path. 

1. IN A CRADLE FOR A FIBER DRAFTING SYSTEM; A PAIR OF SIDE WALLS, A FIRST DRAFTING ROLL AND A SECOND DRAFTING ROLL ROTATABLY POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS WITH THEIR AXES OF ROTATION SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL, A CONTINUOUS FIRST APRON ENCLOSING SAID FIRST DRAFTING ROLL AND A CONTINUOUS SECOND APRON ENCLOSING SAID SECOND DRAFTING ROLL, AND A FIRST APRON SUPPORT POSITIONED WITHIN SAID FIRST APRON WITH SAID FIRST DRAFTING ROLL AND A SECOND APRON SUPPORT POSITIONED WITHIN SAID SECOND APRON WITH SAID SECOND DRAFTING ROLL; SAID FIRST APRON SUPPORT AND SAID SECOND APRON SUPPORT EACH COMPRISING: (A) AN APRON POSITIONING MEANS FOR FIXEDLY POSITIONING AN APRON IN A PREDETERMINED PATH BETWEEN A LINE OF TANGENCY WITH A DRAFTING ROLL AND A SECOND LINE PARALLEL TO AND REMOTE FROM SAID LINE OF TANGENCY, (B) AN APRON TENSIONING MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT TENSION IN AN APRON BY MOTION OF THE APRON IN OTHER THAN SAID PREDETERMINED PATH, (C) A FIRST CLEANING MEANS FOR SCRAPING DEBRIS FROM A DRAFTING ROLL FOR PASSAGE OF SAID DEBRIS WITH AN APRON ALONG SAID PREDETERMINED PATH, AND (D) A SECOND CLEANING MEANS FOR SCRAPING DEBRIS FROM AN APRON LATERALLY OUTWARD TOWARD SAID SIDE WALLS AS THE APRON PASSES ALONG SAID PRE- 